The most commonly injured structures in the shoulder are the tendons, the ligaments followed by the bursa. What are these things and what do they do??
Tendon.
The tendons are what attach our muscles to our bones allowing movement. The shoulder is a highly mobile, flexible complicated joint. The tendons are loaded in extreme ranges of motion and due to the anatomy of the shoulder complex often run “through” boney tunnels and above/below other muscles. Imagine the tendon like a rope, imagine for whatever reason the boney complex changes shape (extreme ranges of motion, period of inactivity, loss of muscle mass…etc etc) the rope no longer “fits” through the tunnel without rubbing. Using the rope analogy, rubbing along a firm surface long enough will cause fraying… tearing.
Sounds very dramatic doesn’t it?
These injuries can occur over time, as a form of wear and tear or in response to a fall/awkward position.
What do we do about it?
